73 — THE SEAL OF THE SEAS
The intermittent rain seemed to take more and more of the Greek afternoons, instead of being limited to the nights that were no longer starry, thanks to the heavy clouds. That morning, in that shack where everyone chose to live together for a few happy days, everyone was busy preparing to leave. Shiryu would tidy up what little she had to return to China for a short period of time, as if for Shunrei to make sure she was okay.
Hyoga would also like to visit Jacob and his village in Siberia, a trip on which Shun chose to accompany him to learn more deeply about the environment in which his friend had grown up. On the other hand, Saori and Seiya would make a pilgrimage through the city of Athens nearby, to the despair of Alice, who would also insist on including herself on the tour, if it weren't her duties at the Sanctuary. Something she seemed to take much more seriously than the Goddess Athena herself. She was silent as she packed her friend's backpack, who noticed Alice's disgruntled silence.
"Don't worry, Mii. I will be on her side." Seiya said to Alice, very pissed off.
"She thinks she can do anything." Alice warned. "Seiya, she is still one of the most famous people out there. She has fans all over the world. You will have to pay extra attention to her. She thinks she is an ordinary girl, but she is not. Here she is the Goddess Athena. Outside she is Saori Kido. And I don't know which of the two is more famous."
"We'll find a way." he replied confidently when he saw that she had finished putting her friend's things together.
"Another thing, Seiya." she called after him. "When you find Seika, tell her I'm going to kill her."
Seiya smiled as Alice hugged him and wished them luck. He had already walked around Rodorio in the last few days asking everyone if they had seen a lost girl there many years ago, showing them a photo that the Foundation had taken of all the children for control profiles when they were little, but no one there seemed to have seen Seika.
But before they all departed for Athens, where they would each take their separate ways for their destination, they received a curious visitor on the second floor: Shaina.
The atmosphere was one of joy among them, wearing simple clothes and backpacks on their backs; in contrast to this, Shaina was fully dressed in her Silver Ophiuchus Cloth. Her eyes didn't seem to believe what they were seeing and Seiya felt her look away when she met his stance. That was the first time Seiya had seen Shaina since she had passed out in his arms after saving him.
Seiya even went to her hut, looking for her around Rodorio and even to Cassius' tomb in the hope that she was there. But in vain, he did not find her, as Shaina, in the role of Master at Arms, was too busy with the Sanctuary. And, in fact, she was also running away from meeting Seiya again, ashamed of having her heart revealed.
But that afternoon she was there on her mission.
"Master Mayura awaits you, Goddess Athena." she told Saori.
It was curious, but Shaina didn't seem to have the respect that one would expect when addressing the Goddess Athena, but Saori also didn't demand of anyone to treat her differently for being a Goddess. It had been many days since Saori returned to the Temple where she knew very well that she was expected on a daily basis. But that was the first time the Master at Arms had had to go and summon her in person.
Saori sought Alice's gaze beside her, but she didn't seem to know what it was. She slowly took the backpack prepared by her friend and turned to Seiya:
"Don't unpack it. I'll be back soon." she told him.
But Seiya could almost feel that this mission would have to be stopped; he saw the friends all loosening the straps of the backpacks they would carry and placing them on the sofa or on the beds. There was a certain tension in Shaina's summoning and they all had a huge unanswered question when Saori, Alice and Shaina left the shack for the Twelve Temples.
The two followed Shaina silently down the road as the drizzle began to fall on Greece to herald the heavy late afternoon rains. The three, wet with rain and in silence, walked up to the Twelve Temples. In every temple that passed, Saori seemed to feel the pains of the battles that had broken out inside. As if inside she was trying to guess in which corner of each temple her friends had been hurt so badly.
If she seemed to resign herself to her role of Goddess acting as a mere aid on the outskirts of the village, she was still the Goddess Athena. And her ascent through the Twelve Temples, though she wore an aged and grimy dress, was received by all the surviving Gold Saints, each kneeling in front of her. Saori gave them a weak smile before moving on, but it was inside each temple that her attention doubled.
At the House of Aries, she looked at the crystal dome that was the first thing she remembered seeing as she came back to life. The destruction of the House of Taurus, the menacing angels of the House of Gemini, the sterility of the House of Cancer, for if before it was like a cemetery, now it seemed to carry the feeling of stepping into a hospital. The fallen colonnades of the House of Leo, the cracked lotus flower in Virgo, the Golden Scale of Libra, a badly cleaned bloodstain in the House of Scorpio, the eternal testament of Aioros in Sagittarius, the deformed statue in Capricorn.
The House of Aquarius, however, seemed far from that white hell in which she found Hyoga beside the body of his Master Camus. The waters from the huge aquarium on the roof still lit the floor, but any remnants of battle or even the ice were gone. Very different from the House of Pisces, which was never restored, such destruction had taken place inside; maybe it wasn't even possible to get it back.
And so Saori, Alice and Shaina climbed the last steps that led into the Temple of Athena, where the Goddess was expected. It had been weeks since she returned to that place.
Shaina led them to a room that was actually Athena's own bedroom. It was one floor below the ground floor, where the mythological Athena herself is said to have slept alone in a stone bed. Over time, a wonderful mural with the figure of the Goddess of War was erected in front of this simple bed. It was the same place where the old Camerlengo had welcomed Saori, now many, many days ago.
Master Mayura was sitting there in her wheelchair, and beside her, pacing back and forth, was a very serious man.
"Welcome back, Athena."
"Master Mayura." she replied back.
The impatient man was actually Nicol, who as soon as he saw the girl emerge, immediately froze, as if seeing a ghost. Saori walked past him, who bowed shortly towards her, unable to meet her eyes, and sat down beside Alice on the stone bed.
The man dropped to the ground, kneeling in front of Saori.
"Oh Goddess Athena, I am not worthy of your presence, but I am honored to stand before you."
Saori looked at Mayura further ahead, as she didn't know who that man was kneeling at Alice's feet.
"This is Crater Nicol, a Silver Saint and a personal friend of mine. We can trust him."
"Get up, Nicol." she asked.
"Forgive me, Goddess Athena." he began. "It is not common or even permitted for men like me to be in the presence of a huge Goddess like Yourself."
Saori looked at Alice beside her and realized that nothing would move that man in front of her; she looked at Mayura, sitting, and Shaina still standing looking at her with those eyes that always looked furious at something. She knelt down in front of Nicol, which completely baffled him, and touched his hands, urging him to look her in the eye.
"If you are a friend of Master Mayura, then you are also my friend." he finally looked into her deep brown eyes. "Stand up, friend."
The man was lost, for he would never have imagined that the Goddess Athena would be so human to him, for Saori would insist on being one even if they tried to make her that stone statue that watched over the entire Sanctuary. He finally got up and Saori noticed he had a thick book under his arm.
"I heard you were waiting for me." she said to Mayura at last.
"Yes, Athena." began Mayura. "As you know, we are at the brink of the Holy War. We can't do anything about what's already happened, but our army is sorely understaffed."
"I'm sure Jab and the others will return with the Bronze Cloths that are scattered across the World."
Mayura and also Shaina let some surprise appear when they noticed that Saori knew of some developments that happened in the Sanctuary, even though she hadn't been in any of the Councils since the end of the Sanctuary battle.
"I see the Owl has been playing her role very well." she commented about Alice beside Saori.
"We already have some aspirants ready to ascend as Saints." added Shaina, from a distance.
"I'm sure we'll be ready, Master Mayura." said Saori, finally.
The silence left everyone a little disconcerted and Saori sensed that there was something more they needed to talk to her; inside, she guessed what it was.
"Anything else you need to tell me?" asked Saori and Master Mayura, who had been so tender in the rain for her, was now there in the condition of Master of the Sanctuary.
"I hope you understand that the role of a Saintia is to watch over the heart of her Goddess, as well as to be the connection between Sanctuary and Athena." she began, almost as if apologizing for something. Saori noticed that Alice gulped beside her. "Alice shared with us that you want to accompany Seiya in his search for his sister."
Saori let the silence embarrass everyone before she answered, there was no note of displeasure with her friend in her voice, as she already imagined it was part of her function.
"The Foundation does not have such a large presence here in Greece, so I could be of great help to Seiya."
"The Sanctuary can be attacked at any time." Shaina added, objecting to that idea.
"The way I see it, we still have at least a few months until the battle begins. Isn't it true that the Old Master of the Five Peaks will update us when the time comes? I understood that Shiryu would return to China precisely with this mission."
Silence between them, for Athena was aware of every move. Alice was an excellent messenger and future Owl.
But even though Athena had already thought of everything, seeing Mayura's grave face, as well as the restlessness of the man behind her, she quickly guessed that there was something more to be shared there. Something that really required her presence there again.
"There's something the Goddess Athena needs to know." Mayura spoke very firmly and although she couldn't see Master's eyes, Saori felt slightly rebuked. How Mayura elegantly invited herself to be the Goddess Athena everyone expected her to be. "Shaina, bring our guest, please."
She walked away stomping on the marble of the temple, leaving them there immersed in a mystery; Saori sought Alice's eyes to understand if there was something she had failed to tell her, but she too looked lost.
Soon Shaina returned with the guest, as it was clear that she was already at the Temple just waiting to be called. It was a face Alice remembered very well, as she had never forgotten it.
"This is Geist." announced Mayura.
Geist walked into the light wearing a beautiful Silver Cloth, but as Alice carefully observed, she saw that her face was no longer hiding under a mask. In any case, she wasn't exactly comfortable with this treacherous figure.
"I thought she was Banished from the Sanctuary." Alice commented.
"She's to be trusted!" Shaina snapped at her, and noticed Geist's serious eyes fall on her as well.
"As you know, Athena, we cannot ignore the forces that could help us in this battle, since we have so many few soldiers. Geist, as well as many others and my friend Nicol at my side, have been blamed for unreal crimes."
"Do you trust her, Master Mayura?"
"I trust Shaina and Shaina trusts Geist, Goddess Athena."
"Then that's all I need to know."
Saori looked at Geist and made a slight bow, as if she accepted that little piece of advice. She, unlike Shaina, knelt before Saori and performed according to the rites.
"I am Geist, Silver Saint of Argo, and I will be at your service, Goddess Athena."
"Tell us again about what you saw, Geist." asked Mayura.
"Athena, as you know, I come from the Caribbean Sea, and I would like to report to you that the inhabitants of the region are certain that the return of the Lord of the Seas is at hand. I can assure you from my own experience that the sea is much rougher than usual and that some sea rites are already starting to welcome his resurgence." her voice remained serious as she enumerated. "The sea creatures have become more war-like, the waves that break in the middle of the sea are now much bigger, we detected the presence of ocean typhoons capable of swallowing whole galleons. There are already endless parties in the harbors and corsair taverns of the smaller and larger islands of the Caribbean."
Geist, without her mask, was a person who still seemed to hide her emotions under a very specific seriousness and vast vocabulary. As if she had abandoned the mask to adopt another stronghold for herself.
"The Lord of the Seas..." pondered Saori. "Do you think this intermittent rain could also have something to do with it?"
"We cannot rule out any hypothesis." said Mayura.
"Does that mean Poseidon is about to emerge?" finally asked the Goddess Athena, denoting the due gravity of the event.
"It wasn't expected, as the time of Poseidon is not at hand, but I feel the signs do tell a different story." she spoke gravely. "The former Gemini Saint, Saga, was the one who guarded the Seal of the Seas, and everything has happened since he was defeated."
"Is this our Holy War?" asked Saori, finally.
"Nicol…" Mayura asked, and the man stepped in front of them as politely as possible.
"My dear old friend Mayura is right." he began, always with extreme politeness. "According to the Sanctuary records I once read, we are still a few decades away from Poseidon's return. Your rebirth, O' Goddess Athena, aligns with the resurgence of the Underworld Ruler Hades. This is the challenge for which you returned to Earth and for which we should prepare for what must be the greatest of the Holy Wars."
He took a breath and no one there seemed able to interrupt his unfinished explanation.
"If what you say is true, then we are faced with the possibility of having to battle both Poseidon and Hades."
"I am sorry to confirm that this might be the terrible possibility in our future." said Mayura.
"Forgive me, Goddess Athena, for adding more trouble in our sad fate, but I'm afraid I'm the messenger of bad fortune. I would like to request that we all go to the office next to this room so that I can show you something I found."
The side office was not large, but it had a table and many chairs so that everyone could be seated there; Saori noticed clearly how the better decorated chair at the head, no one dared to occupy, so it seemed to indicate that she should sit there. She didn't and nudged Alice lightly to get her to sit in the special chair; and she sat down, to Nicol's horror, who didn't speak. Saori sat down next to Shaina.
Although he was disconcerted, Crater Nicol began to speak.
"I found this one and only lost book in the library of Star Hill. And in it here are as many Saga notes as there are mysteries. It is not a book from our collections, nor from those realms with which we pool our knowledge." his voice turned grim. "It's a book from Atlantis."
The name fell like a huge mystery among them; no one dared to speak, however, mindful of the Silver Saint.
"The Gemini Saint, Saga, was the one assigned to look after and guard the Seal of the Seas. He must have fulfilled his role to perfection, even though he committed heinous crimes posing as the Camerlengo. But as for the Seal of the Seas, it seems to me that his function was fulfilled with the highest competence; more than that, he seems to have had access to a very important book, as it expands all our knowledge about the Seal of the Seas and the Realm of Poseidon."
Every pair of eyes on that table stared at Nicol as he opened the tome.
"Saga was the Guardian of the Seal of the Seas, who is found in the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sunion. The same place where I and so many unfortunates were arrested shortly after his revolt. I would like to suggest that we go to Cape Sunion to see the Seal of the Seas with our own eyes."
his request was addressed to the Master of Sanctuary, so she nodded.
"It's done." said Mayura. "Go, Nicol, but take Geist and Shaina with you as well."
"I will go too." announced Saori, to the surprise of those present.
Mayura tried to dissuade her.
"There is no need for your presence, Athena."
"It is the duty of the Goddess Athena to watch over the Earth, is it not? I'll go."
Her word was final.
"Very well." Mayura accepted, not wanting to disagree with her Goddess.
"It's not just that, is it?" Saori asked Nicol, and he shook his head as if a cloud had taken his face.
"This book is very complete. It's written in Atlantean, a language I don't understand, but it seems to me that Saga has unraveled some of its inscriptions and left his notes behind."
Nicol opened a few pages and pointed to notes written in red. Saori could not help but feel butterflies in her stomach at the sight of the handwriting of that huge man who had decided on such a difficult fate for her; and she clearly noticed how beautiful the handwriting was and then stormy, like his personality.
"For what Saga left behind is invaluable. The Seal of the Seas of Cape Sunion, which we have believed for all these years to be the one that guarded the Return of Poseidon, is nothing but just another one." his voice became even more serious, like someone uttering a curse. "For there are still other Seals scattered across the Oceans, called the Relics of the Seas. Seven of them. One for each of the Seven Seas."
If for Saori and Alice it all sounded mysterious and unknown, for Mayura that information painted her face with concern, as they didn't think it was possible. Even though under that blindfold they couldn't see her worried eyes, it was clear from her posture that what was bad news before had just turned into disgrace.
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: The Council of Athena is a concept I got from the Golden Gathering that occurs sometimes in Episode G, but instead of just being with Gold Saints, here I thought it would be cooler to have the higher echelons of Sanctuary, regardless of their Cloth-rank. Bringing Geist back made perfect sense for the Fanfic, since of all the characters in the series, she is one of the only ones that actually had any connection to the sea. More than that, her episode is full of references to the Thousand and One Nights Sinbad, so she was a character that I would really like to see come back.
NEXT CHAPTER: THE HOPE OF ATHENA
Seiya's plans are put on hold so the Sanctuary can organize to face what appears to be a new threat.